Fourteen women and a man were killed and eight others injured when a mini goods vehicle they were travelling in plunged into a gorge in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham district on Monday, the police said.
The accident took place near Bahpani village under Kukdur police station limits when the victims were returning after plucking tendu leaves from a forest in the pick-up vehicle (meant for transportation of goods), a police official said.
The vehicle skidded off the road and fell into the gorge.
Fourteen women and a man died on the spot while eight others were injured, he said.
After being alerted, a police team rushed to the spot and launched the rescue exercise, the official said.
The injured persons were being shifted to hospital, he added.